REI Co-op opens the doors of its new Glenwood Springs store on Friday, July 22. The outdoor retailer invites local members and the community to join a three-day celebration scheduled for July 22-24.
Located at 3216 South Glen Avenue, Suite A at Roaring Fork Marketplace, the 20,300 square-foot store will offer a wide assortment of top-quality outdoor gear and apparel for hiking, camping, paddling, cycling, running, fitness, snowsports and more. The store will also feature a specialty bike and ski shop staffed with certified mechanics to tune or repair equipment.
During the three-day celebration, REI Glenwood Springs will open at 9 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. on Sunday. Giveaways will be available each day while supplies last. REI will host an outdoor social every afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. with music and outdoor brands including Arc’teryx, Black Diamond, Fjallraven, Gerber, Gore-tex, Gregory Mountain Products, Hydroflask, Janji, Kuat, Keen, Nikwax, Oboz, ON, Osprey, prAna, Sea to Summit, Snow Peak and Subaru. Regional nonprofit partners participating include Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, Gay for Good, and Roaring Fork Mountain Biking Association.
“The community has been very welcoming to our arrival and our team of 41 is excited to be a resource to local residents’ active lifestyles and visitors who come to play in this amazing region,” said Jace Harms, REI store manager. “Whether trying a new activity or heading out on a familiar trail or waterway, we aspire to be at the center of people’s outdoor lives for products and expertise.”
Anyone is welcome to shop at REI and tap into the company’s resources in support of their active lifestyle, but members enjoy a range of benefits. There are more than 1.1 million lifetime members in Colorado. Prior to the store’s opening, there were more than 3,000 members in Glenwood Springs. The store joins eight other locations in Colorado – Boulder (opened 1989), Colorado Springs (opened 1999), Denver (opened 1983, relocated to flagship location in 2000), Dillon (opened 2017), Fort Collins (opened 1994), Grand Junction (opened 2000), Greenwood Village (opened 1998), and Lakewood (opened 1994).
REI Glenwood Springs continues to hire full and part-time retail sales associates. Those who love the outdoors are encouraged to apply via the REI jobs page. Applicants who are hired for an open role will receive a one-time bonus of $300.
As a co-op, REI annually invests millions of dollars in local nonprofit organizations to steward trails, waterways and parks and connect people to the outdoors. Over the last five years, the co-op has invested nearly $3.7M in Colorado-based land agencies and nonprofit partners. Recent regional recipients include Blackpackers, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association, Colorado West Land Trust, Friends of the Dillon Ranger District, McConnell Science Museum, Rocky Mountain Field Institute and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado.
Complementing REI’s community investment priority, last year the co-op introduced the REI Cooperative Action Fund, a community-supported public charity, to harness the collective power of the co-op’s members and employees to build a more equitable and inclusive outdoor community. The Fund invested $1 million in 19 organizations across the country. Colorado nonprofits included in the initial grant round were local chapters of Adaptive Adventures, Fresh Tracks at Aspen Institute, Greening Youth Foundation, Latino Outdoors and Outdoor Asian.